The Musketeers to kill off Peter Capaldi after Doctor Who left him unable to film ending | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV | Daily Express CELEBRITY NEWS The Musketeers to kill off Peter Capaldi after Doctor Who left him unable to film ending THE MUSKETEERS is to kill of Peter Capaldi's villainous Cardinal, after he was unable to film any sort of end to his character duo to his Doctor Who commitments. 15:42, Wed, Apr 23, 2014 Peter Capaldi's Musketeers character will be killed off after he was unable to film an ending[WENN] Producers have had to write the character out of the hit BBC show after the Scottish actor landed the coveted role of the twelfth Time Lord, meaning he had to abandon his other acting projects. Denied a grand send-off during the final episode of the first series, it has been revealed that the Cardinal will simply be gone when it returns later this year. "Come the next series the Cardinal will be dead," Tom Burke, who plays Athos in the show, revealed to the Radio Times. "He'll just be gone.

The star had to abandon his role as Cardinal Richelieu in the BBC show [BBC] Writers have had to write the character out and bring in a new villain [BBC] "We're all like, 'Where's the Cardinal? Oh he's dead!'" He added: "It's a great example of economic storytelling. Their new nemesis will be Rochefort, who's played by Marc Warren." Peter Capaldi will appear in the new series of Doctor Who as the 12th Time Lord [BBC] Warren, who has starred in Mad Dogs and Hustle, officially joined the cast last month with his villainous character described as a "dashing and persuasive aristocrat with a talent for sword fighting and a taste for adventure." Capaldi is currently shooting series eight of Doctor Who which is expected to hit screens this year [WENN] Burke's fellow Musketeers Luke Pasqualino, Howard Charles and Santiago Cabrera will reprise their roles in the new series, which has already began filming in Prague. Meanwhile, Capaldi is currently shooting series eight of Doctor Who which is expected to hit screens on BBC1 later this year.

Related articles One for all: new Machiavellian role for Capaldi in BBC's Musketeers | Television & radio | The Guardian Peter Capaldi One for all: new Machiavellian role for Capaldi in BBC's Musketeers Actor renowned for role of ruthless spin doctor Malcolm Tucker to play Cardinal Richelieu in adaptation of Dumas classic book Peter Capaldi as Cardinal Richelieu in The Musketeers. The minister 'wasn’t a villain, he was pragmatic', says writer Adrian Hodges.

Photograph: Robert Viglasky/BBC Peter Capaldi One for all: new Machiavellian role for Capaldi in BBC's Musketeers Actor renowned for role of ruthless spin doctor Malcolm Tucker to play Cardinal Richelieu in adaptation of Dumas classic book Friday 27 December 2013 11.20 EST First published on Friday 27 December 2013 11.20 EST Close This article is 3 years old He gave the nation a glimpse of his role as Doctor Who on Christmas Day, but before that series returns viewers will first have a chance to re-examine the political machinations of Peter Capaldi , as he takes on the role of Cardinal Richelieu in BBC1's gritty, updated take on the tale of the Three Musketeers. The 10-part drama, which will begin next month and appears destined for a Saturday-night slot, is a modern take on the Alexandre Dumas tale without doing what its writer Adrian Hodges described as the "full Sherlock".

The feathers and the tabards are gone – fans of the 1973 Richard Chamberlain film will be disappointed – and in their place is a world that is a "bit smelly, a bit dirty", said Hodges. "But it's still about heroes," he said. "There are lots of anti-heroes on TV, and there is always room in the world for heroes." The ghost of Malcom Tucker, the foul-mouthed spin doctor memorably portrayed by Capaldi over seven years of The Thick of It , inevitably hangs heavy. Capaldi, said Hodges, has an "extraordinary quicksilver mind. He can be funny, mercurial and extremely deadly, often in the same sentence. "You bring that little bit of people's association with [Tucker's] character. Peter wouldn't have done it if he was just the Sheriff of Nottingham. You've got to give Peter ambiguity, a real character," said Hodges. "Richelieu was a great moderniser; he wasn't a villain, he was pragmatic.

If someone is in the way and the only way of getting them out of the way is to kill them, then that's what he will do, but he won't do it because he likes killing people." Even Tucker never did that, although there are echoes of the way he dealt with ineffectual MPs as the cardinal inveigles King Louis XIII to do his bidding. "We had one moment where Peter said, 'I can't really say that, it's kind of similar to something I said in The Thick of It'," recalled Hodges. "The truth is you write the character before the actor is cast. Nobody can be unaware of how brilliant he was in that role; he is going to bring a little bit of that to it, just like every great actor does." Hodges' updating includes a mixed-race Porthos, played by newcomer Howard Charles. "He was born in the 'court of miracles', the 17th-century version of the ghetto," said Charles. A long roll call of guest stars includes Vinnie Jones, Tara Fitzgerald, Ashley Waters, John Lynch and Sean Pertwee. Unusually for a story about the musketeers perhaps, it also features a number of prominent roles for women.

"In modernising the series, we wanted the women to be as equally powerful and impressive as the men," Jessica Pope, its executive producer, said. As well as Fitzgerald, who plays the king's mother, the cast includes Maimie McCoy, who starred as the young Joyce Hatto in Victoria Wood's BBC1 drama Loving Miss Hatto, as Milady de Winter, and Tamla Kari, who was in The Inbetweeners Movie and BBC3 sitcom Cuckoo, as D'Artagnan's love interest, Constance Bonacieux. Pope said it was important for modern audiences to have a range of characters they can relate to. "We tried to have women who had a real sense of their own destiny and weren't just add-ons to the main event." Filmed over six months in the Czech Republic – chosen above rival locations such as Dublin and Canada because it most closely resembled 17th-century Paris – the BBC hopes it will be a global hit. Co-funded by the corporation's commercial arm, BBC Worldwide, it will air in the US on the cable channel BBC America. "The story is known almost everywhere, which helps," said Hodges. "Will it work in America?

I haven't got a bloody clue, but what you hope is it works everywhere." If it is not the "full Sherlock", a modern-day version of the story – "That wouldn't work. Would they be the SAS or something?" said Hodges – then neither is it the "full Game of Thrones". "It's an adult show that is nevertheless accessible to the whole family," said Hodges. He explained in more detail: "We don't have a lot of swearing, full nudity or Peckinpah levels of blood. But what we do have is a show that feels real, that approaches sexuality and the violence of the age, and where actions have consequences." Hodges, whose previous credits include BBC1's Survivors and Primeval on ITV, said he hoped the show, which touches on issues such as slavery and domestic terrorism, would resonate with the present day. "It isn't hard to parallel the hatred the Catholics felt for the Huguenots with people of different religious persuasions now," he said.

The BBC has released a picture of the new Doctor Who, Peter Capaldi, with Jenna Coleman, who plays his assistant Clara Oswald, on set for his first full day of filming Published: 7 Jan 2014 The Musketeers Season 2: With Peter Capaldi Out, Marc Warren Is In At The Musketeers Season 2 As Rochefort And He Said He Is ‘Excited To Be Part Of The Show’ : Trending News : KDramaStars The Musketeers Season 2: With Peter Capaldi Out, Marc Warren Is In At The Musketeers Season 2 As Rochefort And He Said He Is ‘Excited To Be Part Of The Show’ BY Denise Garcia | Sep 01, 2014 12:25 AM EDT Tags the musketeers season 1 , the musketeers season 2 , Peter Capaldi , marc warren , drama series , the musketeers , BBC The Musketeers Season 1 just ended but fans will not have to wait longer as filming for The Musketeers Season 2 is underway. By 2015, they will be able to see the show again.

But this time, expect it to be action-packed. However, the second season will be without one important cast member - Peter Capaldi, who plays the role of Cardinal Richelieu. Capaldi now stars in "Doctor Who". This means that he has to forego all his commitments, including The Musketeers. The writers who were caught flat-footed of his resignation were not able to give a fitting ending to his character in the season 1 finale. Instead, The Musketeers Season 2 will just tell the viewers that he is dead. This Tom Burke, who plays the role of Athos, told Radio Times . "Their new nemesis will be Rochefort, who's played by Marc Warren." Advertisement Warren just joined the cast to be Comte De Rochefort, a "dashing and persuasive aristocrat with a talent for sword fighting and a taste for adventure", reported Radio Times . He told BBC , "I'm delighted to be part of the BBC's stylish and exciting take on the Dumas classic. Once I've overcome my fear of horses I'm sure it'll be a walk in the park." Jessica Pope, BBC Executive Producer, also said that they are happy to welcome him in the show.

"He's a clever and mercurial actor who will bring danger and charm to the role of Rochefort in equal measure." Luke Pasqualino (D'Artagnan), Tom Burke (Athos), Santiago Cabrera (Aramis), and Howard Charles (Porthos) are back in the The Musketeers Season 2. Other comebackers in this 10-episode drama series are Tamla Kari, Maimie McCoy, Hugo Speer, Ryan Gage, and Alexandra Dowling. The Musketeers is made by BBC Drama Production, co-produced by BBC WorldWide and BBC America. Adrian Hodges is the creator and the executive producer. Colin Wratten is the producer.

Peter Capaldi interview: 'I'm Doctor Who, how did that happen?' | The Independent Features Peter Capaldi interview: 'I'm Doctor Who, how did that happen?' In his first interview since being given the keys to the Tardis, Peter Capaldi reflects on how he came to fulfil his childhood dream Friday 15 August 2014 13:00 BST Click to follow The Independent Culture Peter Capaldi: “I grew up with ‘Doctor Who’, The Beatles, ‘Sunday Night at the London Palladium’, school milk, bronchitis, smog, S-buckle belts and all that stuff. So ‘Doctor Who’ is part of my DNA” BBC Peter Capaldi begins with an apology. He is sorry that the last time we met – on the Prague set of The Musketeers, BBC1’s adaptation of the Alexandre Dumas stories – he was obliged to be, as the late MP Alan Clark once famously put it, “Economical with the actualité”. In spite of repeated Paxman-esque quizzing by me about what he was doing next, Capaldi had made like Michael Howard in consistently refusing to answer my questions.

The reason he was so resolute in rebuffing me was, of course, that he was sworn to secrecy about his next role. Only a handful of people in the whole universe knew that Capaldi was about to take on possibly the most sought-after part in British TV drama: Doctor Who . He was not even able to tell his own daughter the good news. So the actor would undoubtedly have been lined up in front of a firing squad of exterminating Daleks if he had spilt the beans to me. Fortunately, we can both laugh about it now. “Yes, well, the last time we were talking I knew I couldn’t say anything!” Capaldi grins wryly by way of apology. “You were asking me all these questions about what I was doing next, and I had to just sit there and say nothing!” He carries on that, “It was a fantastic piece of knowledge to have, but it was getting tiring lying to people all the time!” The fact that the information acquired the aura of a state secret only serves to underline the sheer magnitude of the show.

Doctor Who series 8 cast in pictures Doctor Who series 8 cast in pictures 1/9 Doctor Who series 8 cast Keeley Hawes will play 'mysterious character' Ms Delphox BBC 2/9 Doctor Who series 8 cast British singer Foxes is to guest star in an episode of Doctor Who and will perform one of her songs BBC 3/9 Doctor Who series 8 cast Samuel Anderson will play a teacher at Coal Hill School where Clara Oswald also teaches BBC 4/9 Doctor Who series 8 cast Whovian Peter Capaldi will play the twelfth Doctor, taking over from Matt Smith in the eight series BBC 5/9 Doctor Who series 8 cast Green Wing actress Michelle Gomez will star as the Gatekeeper of the Nethersphere BBC 6/9 Doctor Who series 8 cast Comedian, actor and broadcaster Sanjeev Bhaskar will guest star in the finale Getty Images 7/9 Doctor Who series 8 cast Jenna Louise Coleman will return to play Clara Oswald, the Doctor's companion Getty Images 8/9 Doctor Who series 8 cast Ben Miller will play a new unnamed villain Rex Features 9/9 Doctor Who series 8 cast Doctor Who fan Frank Skinner is to make a

 guest cameo appearance Rex We are meeting at “DWHQ”, the nerve centre of the “Whoniverse,” the BBC’s Roath Lock Studios in Cardiff, where they film the show.

You are greeted at reception by a Dalek, perhaps a chilling reminder of what the fate that awaits you if you reveal any spoilers. Capaldi is just as you would hope. He is much warmer, but just as sharp as the character for which he was previously best-known, the exhilaratingly foul-mouthed spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It. Today he is sporting “electric shock” greying hair, grey trousers and a white T-shirt with an arty design that could have been lifted straight from an indie band’s album cover. The Scottish actor gives off a force field of charisma that may well be visible on the furthest edge of the galaxy. He twinkles like Regent Street during Christmas week. Video: Interviews on the red carpet At 56, Capaldi is the joint-oldest (with the first Doctor, William Hartnell) of the 12 main actors to be handed the Tardis keys, but he exudes a youthful exuberance that would shame performers half his age. The fact that Capaldi is of a certain age meant that many people were taken by surprise when he was announced last summer as the new Time Lord.

But having watched his opening episode, “Deep Breath” , which goes out on BBC1 next Saturday, I can see exactly why the show-runner Steven Moffat went for his fellow Scot. In this feature-length story, the Doctor and his companion Clara (Jenna Coleman) battle a dastardly foe in Victorian London. But, more than that, the episode is about Clara’s attempts to come to terms with a very different manifestation of the Doctor. His relationship with her has changed, but it is still at the heart of the piece and continues to be what makes this alien so human. Capaldi’s Time Lord is angrier, edgier and spikier than more recent versions. At one point, he is at the helm of the Tardis, and Clara asks, “Where are we going?” “Into darkness,” he replies. The actor himself describes his Doctor as, “More mysterious and not as user-friendly” as some of the recent incarnations. He may be darker, stranger and more alien, but my diagnosis of Capaldi’s Doctor is that he’s immensely compelling and will be a big hit with viewers of all ages. Born and bred in Glasgow, Capaldi got a taste for performing while studying at the Glasgow School of Art.

There, he sang in a punk band called Dreamboys, whose drummer was the future US chat show host Craig Ferguson. While still a student, Capaldi landed his breakthrough role in Bill Forsyth’s much-loved 1983 movie, Local Hero. Over the subsequent 31 years, the actor has shown tremendous versatility. He has played everything from the nicest man on the planet in Local Hero, to the nastiest man on the planet in The Thick of It and its movie version, In the Loop. The actor sums up his career thus: “I was recently doing a voiceover for butter and they said, ‘Can you be a little less sinister?’ So that’s how far it’s gone. I’ve gone from an amiable geek in Bill Forsyth films to a ‘sinister’ butter salesman.” Relatively late in his career, Capaldi now has a seriously high profile. Despite that, he laughs off the idea that he might decamp to LA: “Hollywood producers aren’t going to say, ‘Get me that swearing, grey-haired, headless chicken. We need him for our new High School Musical movie!’” For all his memorable past roles, Doctor Who is special to Capaldi.

He is happy to admit that he has been a “Whovian” his entire life. He jokes that the last time he got to play the Time Lord was as a nine-year-old in the playground. As an eager 15-year-old in February 1974, he wrote to the Radio Times praising the magazine for its coverage of Doctor Who. Now, 40 years later, the fan boy has fulfilled his childhood dreams. Capaldi, who is married to the actress and TV producer Elaine Collins and has a grown-up daughter, confesses that, “I was totally geeky. But when you reach the age of 17 or 18, you move on and discover sex and drugs and rock’n’roll. I’m ashamed to say I had a kind of bonfire of the vanities. I had a huge collection of Doctor Who books, autographs and pictures, but I threw them all away to go and drink lager and eat curries. That was silly, wasn’t it?” He adds that, “I wish I’d known that one day the geek would inherit the Earth.” But he did not abandon his first love forever.

Capaldi, also a notable director who won an Oscar in 1995 for making the short film Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life, says that, “I grew up with Doctor Who, The Beatles, Sunday Night at the London Palladium, school milk, bronchitis, smog, S buckle belts and all that stuff, so Doctor Who is part of my DNA. Although one goes away, now the Prodigal Son returns!” There is no doubting the authenticity of his passion for all things Whovian. “It’s a very unusual story that somebody who was so into it would end up playing this role. It was such an unlikely event that I never considered it happening to myself. There are things I get excited about that only a fan boy could get excited about. I don’t need any help with the backstory. “Even if I’d never played Doctor Who, as a kid, that’s what formed me as an actor rather than going to the Royal Shakespeare Company or doing Chekhov. It taught me to be an actor.

I hope it’s all inside me, and it comes up.” One other characteristic that Capaldi’s Doctor exhibits is a childish glee – which mirrors the emotions he experienced when he first heard he had won the role he had been coveting. The actor, who lives in North London, recalls that, “I was in Prague doing The Musketeers, and I read in the paper that Matt [Smith] was leaving. I just thought I wasn’t in that race at all. I thought the role was going to keep going in a younger direction.” When the producers were making the final decision about the new Doctor, Capaldi remembers, “I was shooting as Cardinal Richelieu, so my phone had to be off. But I checked it, and I had nine messages. My agent finally got through and said, ‘Hello, Doctor.’ I went into the corner, I couldn’t tell anyone. I had to be very quiet.” He does admit, though, that, “When I was walking around Prague on my own, I was singing the Doctor Who theme tune to myself.” If you take on the role of Doctor, you are also taking on some of the most dedicated fans this side of Planet Gallifrey.

But Capaldi, who appeared as a Roman sculptor in a 2008 episode of Doctor Who entitled “The Fires of Pompeii”, says he is not bothered by the aficionados’ intense devotion to the show. “Doctor Who is so big, from the start I thought, ‘Don’t get involved in what people say.’ You simply do your best. Then it goes out into the world and you know that whether most people like it or not, somewhere someone loves you, and will always love you. The more everyone else hates you, the more they’ll love you! ‘He was my Doctor’, they’ll say.” Doctor Who is a huge hit with fans Capaldi goes on to ponder just why the show, first broadcast on BBC1 the night after President Kennedy was assassinated in November 1963, has lasted so long. “It’s got monsters in it. And they can change the leading actor. As Steven [Moffat] says, ‘If every show could do that, they’d all last a lot longer.’ Also, although it’s a sci-fi show, to me there’s an aspect of Grimm’s fairytale about it.

The Doctor takes you deep into the forest where there are monsters, but he will return you to safety in the end. I think that colour in it is very potent, and it appeals to a family audience. “Doctor Who has within it some of the cornerstones of the human psyche. He dies and is reborn. That’s a potent idea. It’s a show that young people can watch in which they are confronted with death, but in a way which is not grief-stricken.” Finally, Capaldi pauses to reflect on his continuing sense of wonderment about Doctor Who, which has stretched from his earliest childhood to the present day. “I’m constantly amazed that it is me playing this role. I think, ‘I’m Doctor Who – how did that happen?’ “It’s a huge privilege and hugely exciting. I remember when I first came into the Tardis, I had to be very patient as the very nice props guys showed me how to work the Tardis. I was thinking, ‘I know how to work the Tardis.

I’ve known for a long time, probably longer than you, so you don’t need to tell me!’ Every day is amazing.” So how does the actor feel about still having so much fun at the age of 56? Capaldi ends – as he began – with an apology. “I feel guilty. My wife says to me, ‘You still enjoying it?’ ‘Yeah, sorry!’” Series 8 of ‘Doctor Who’ starts next Saturday on BBC1 The five best Time Lords Tom Baker (1974-1981) The longest-serving Doctor, the actor occupied the Tardis between 1974 and 1981. His is fondly remembered as the most gloriously eccentric interpretation of the character. Draped in his trademark, multi-coloured long woolly scarf, the Fourth Doctor boasted a marvellously distinctive, booming voice, recently voted the fourth most recognisable in Britain. He handed out jelly babies willy-nilly and won over friend and foe right across the universe with his wonderfully charismatic personality.

David Tennant (2005-2010) The Scottish actor, who wielded the sonic screwdriver from 2005 to 2010, was voted the fans’ favourite in a Doctor Who 50th anniversary poll last year. The 10th Doctor won a stonking 37 per cent of the vote, more than double the amount garnered by second-placed Matt Smith. Tennant, who had a background in the Royal Shakespeare Company, brought a real presence to the role. Sporting a battered brown or blue pinstripe suit, permanently loosened tie and red or white trainers, he could do hilarious as well as heart-breaking. His relationship with his first companion, Rose (Billie Piper), was both passionate and poignant. Jon Pertwee (1970-1974) This suave actor played the Doctor between 1970 and 1974. A very dapper dresser, known for his flamboyant bowtie and red-lined cape, the Third Doctor was also something of a James Bond-esque action man. A very self-confident, sophisticated Time Lord, he combatted baddies with Venusian Aikido.

Exiled to Earth by the Time Lords, he motored around in a string of eye-catching vehicles, and there was a certain frisson to his relationship with his second companion, Jo Grant, played by Katy Manning. Matt Smith (2010-2013) Many feared that Smith – at just 26, the youngest ever actor ever to be invited to pilot the Tardis – would struggle to follow in the footsteps of the hugely popular Tennant, but he did a great job in the role from 2010 to last year. An actor who previously had ambitions to become a professional footballer, until injury put paid to that, Smith invested the role with a terrific physicality. Combining a rare gift for clowning with angular good looks, as the 11th Doctor Smith absolutely made the part his own. William Hartnell (1963-1966) This venerable actor sneaks in just ahead of the man who replaced him, Patrick Troughton, by virtue of creating the character that has become one of the most widely loved in TV history.

Initially reluctant to tackle the role, the then 55-year-old had to be persuaded to become the First Doctor by the show’s first producer, Verity Lambert. But Hartnell, who played the Doctor from the show’s inception in 1963 till ill health forced him to quit in 1966, soon owned the part with his gruff charm. Peter Capaldi to star in new BBC drama The Musketeers | Radio Times Twitter Peter Capaldi to star in new BBC drama The Musketeers The Thick of It actor will appear next year alongside Skins star Luke Pasqualino and Merlin's Santiago Cabrera in adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' novel Comments Susanna Lazarus 11:03 AM, 26 February 2013 Peter Capaldi has been cast as Cardinal Richelieu in new BBC drama The Musketeers. The man who played The Thick of It's foul-mouthed spin doctor Malcolm Tucker will star alongside Skins actor Luke Pasqualino in the new ten-part drama, set on the streets of 17th century Paris.

A contemporary take on Alexandre Dumas' classic novel - first serialised in 1844 - the BBC1 series follows Athos, Aramis and Porthos, played by Tom Burke (Great Expectations), Santiago Cabrera (Merlin) and Howard Charles (Royal Shakespeare Company). The action begins when this crack team of King Louis XIII's highly trained soldiers encounters skilled fighter D'Artagnan (Pasqualino), who is on a mission to right the wrong of his father's death. Tamla Kari (The Inbetweeners Movie) will play Constance Bonacieux whose dull existence as the wife of a cloth merchant is turned upside down when she mets D'Artagnan and becomes involved with the Musketeers. Capaldi portrays Cardinal Richelieu - a shady figure who will stop at nothing in his attempt to modernise France. He is aided on his mission by mysterious and beautiful villain Milady, played by Loving Miss Hatto actress Maimie McCoy. The Cardinal advises King Louis, alongside his shrewd wife Queen Anne and Captain Treville (Bedlam's Hugo Speer), the respected leader of the Musketeers.

Series creator Adrian Hodges (My Week With Marilyn, Primeval) said: "I'm thrilled to be working with such a dynamic, talented and attractive ensemble cast on our new version of The Musketeers. "This series is all about passion, romance, heroism and action, and I can't think of a better group of actors to embody those diverse qualities. "I'm thrilled by their ability and commitment and honoured they've chosen to come on board to help us create what we hope will be our modern and original take on this great story and its classic characters. Controller of BBC drama Ben Stephenson added: "The ambition of this drama is clearly illustrated with such a world-class mix of talent - the perfect team to take the audience on thrilling action adventures every week." Filming on the series will begin in March. The ten hour-long episodes will be broadcast on BBC1 in 2014. Like this? Share it. Cardinal Richelieu - The Musketeers Characters - ShareTV Peter Dougan Capaldi (born April 14, 1958) is a Scottish actor and film director. In 1995, his short ...

Character Bio Cardinal Richelieu is a scheming, ruthless and pragmatic, the Cardinal is the most powerful man in France. In the eyes of the Musketeers, is a villain, a power-hungry dictator whose ultimate aim is nothing less than complete control of France. But in his own eyes the Cardinal is bringing much needed order to an outlaw society. He knows the King’s weaknesses all too well and understands that someone must take on the burden of government in his place. But nevertheless in his own way the Cardinal is loyal to the crown. Dry and witty, capable of great charm, he is also calculating and mercilessly cruel in implementing his vision. Despite his cool exterior the Cardinal is a man of carefully hidden passions.

Episode Screenshots The Musketeers: on set with Peter Capaldi and Vinnie Jones - Telegraph The Musketeers: on set with Peter Capaldi and Vinnie Jones A new BBC adaptation of Dumas’s ‘Three Musketeers’ promises to overthrow viewers’ preconceptions, says Florence Waters Aramis (Santiago Cabrera), D’Artagnan (Luke Pasqualino), Athos (Tom Burke) and Porthos (Howard Charles) Photo: BBC Follow In the grounds of a crumbling baroque château in Doksany near Prague, dozens of gnarly-faced Czech extras are gathered around a fighting arena. Apart from the cameras and the odd aeroplane, the set is eerily untouched by modernity. The landscape beyond is wild, the weather has been harsh throughout the year, and after eight months of filming in gritty conditions there’s an atmosphere of exhaustion and even a threatening sense of aggression on the set. The tense, brooding world of Alexandre Dumas’s best-loved novel The Three Musketeers feels alive.

To one side of the arena is a seated audience of men and women in elaborate 17th-century finery: wigs, ruffs, satin skirts, corsets, powdered chests and curls piled high. Opposite them, looking down on the scene is a stony-faced Peter Capaldi dressed all in black as Cardinal Richelieu and next to him the diminutive figure of a bored-looking young Louis XIII (Ryan Gage, seen most recently in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug ), who directs the odd glance or question at the cardinal. Peter Capaldi as Cardinal Richelieu Photo: BBC Dumas excelled at creating worlds rife with political intrigue, secrets and power games; subtle nuances in the relationships between characters are key to the BBC’s new adaptation, which takes the plot in a new direction, and will be stretched out over 10 hour-long episodes. The first noticeable difference between this version and the others that come before it is that it largely strips away Dumas’s swashbuckling frills so that we are left with more modern, complex characters. There are no floppy feathered hats, swooshing cloaks or twisting mustachios.

Related Articles Dumas novels penned by ghost writer 10 Feb 2010 “It’s very clear we’re not trying to do the book,” writer Adrian Hodges says. “I wanted to take the spirit of Dumas but give the characters a full psychological make-up.” Hodges, whose credits include the film My Week with Marilyn (2011) , is not afraid of bringing heroes down to a more human level. “The Musketeers each come with a certain amount of baggage,” he says. “So as the series opens Porthos is gambling (and cheating), Aramis is in bed with a married woman, and Athos is hung over.” Likewise, Capaldi’s Richelieu is not an out-and-out villain. “I didn’t want to give him the Sheriff of Nottingham syndrome, you know, ‘Damn, I’ve been thwarted again!’ Cardinal Richelieu was a political animal, he always wanted the best for France – sometimes [in my adaptation] he’s even on the Musketeers’ side.” The language of the script plays against expectation too.

In one of the early episodes, there’s a moment during a fight when one of the musketeers deliberately avoids helping one of his cohorts, “You know our motto,” he says. “Every man for himself!” replies another. “All for one and one for all,” does not ring out until much later in the series. “I wanted them to earn the right to say it. I wanted it to mean something,” says Hodges. D'Artagnan (Luke Pasqualino), Porthos (Howard Charles), Athos (Tom Burke) and Aramis (Santiago Cabrera) Photo: BBC Dumas fans can rest assured, however; all the original characters are in the adaptation and keep their most entertaining Dumasian qualities, from the hot-headed Gascon boy d’Artagnan, to the fey, spoilt Louis XIII, to Milady de Winter’s femme fatale tendencies. The thrust of the story still comes from the king’s loyal inner circle of guards and their quest to uncover the cardinal’s elaborate conspiracies. Much of what is expanded upon in the BBC version involves the musketeers’ backstories, along with a strong romantic subplot that gets only a small part in the original.

Hodges has deliberately written the new plot for a grown-up audience, but has kept sex and violence to a minimum so that older children can enjoy it too. Each episode is a stand-alone drama – “not like the Game of Thrones model, where if you miss one episode you’re completely lost”. But, he says, viewers will get the most out of it if they watch 10 episodes in sequence. WATCH: Game of Thrones Season 4: the first trailer New characters are introduced too, including the Bourbon Queen Marie de’ Medici, based on the real historical royal, who threatens to dethrone the king. Other parts have been written with guest stars in mind. Familiar faces crop up in the titles, from Tara Fitzgerald to Jason Flemyng who, in a dramatic set piece, gets to blow up the Louvre. The week I visit the Prague set Vinnie Jones has flown in from LA to appear as one of Cardinal Richelieu’s guards. While Jones is waiting for a take of a fight sequence he inspects his sword as if it’s an unnecessary extension to his arm that stands between himself and his adversary.

He slips it back in his belt and thrashes a fist playfully at his opponent, a stunt stand-in for Hugo Speer’s head of the King’s Musketeers. The stand-in, a trained Czech fighter, bravely decides to respond in kind. “That was a real punch,” laughs Jones in shock. Stunt coordinator Steve Griffin, who directs all the fight scenes, rolls his eyes. I tell him I’m assuming the Snatch actor is experienced at this sort of thing. He looks at me sideways. “Not with a sword,” he despairs. Santiago Cabrera, Howard Charles, Tom Burke and Luke Pasqualino Photo: BBC Griffin has been involved from the beginning. Before filming started he took Luke Pasqualino, who plays d’Artagnan, and the three musketeer actors Tom Burke (Athos, the swordsman), Santiago Cabrera (Aramis, the dead shot) and Howard Charles (Porthos, the buccaneer), on a tough boot camp in the Czech Republic where they were forced to muck out horses, fight with heavy weaponry and grow plenty of facial hair. When I ask the four of them what has been the hardest challenge, they look at their feet.

Fighting on horseback? “Running on cobbles in high heels,” admits Charles finally. Burke is quick to correct him: “Cuban heels, Cuban heels. They’re extremely heavy. Being able to run in those took a day’s training at least.” READ: Peter Capaldi dislocates thumb in dress A notable effort has gone into creating authentically challenging conditions on set. The fight scenes are for the most part filmed without stunt doubles, and the physical extremities of a cold winter and a summer heatwave that sent temperatures up to 35°C have given the actors some sense of the realities of 17th-century conditions. “I still break into a sweat just looking at it,” says Pasqualino of his heavy leather costume. Luke Pasqualino as D'Artagnan Photo: BBC “Heroes have changed,” he notes. “The musketeers lived on a knife point and risked their lives for king and country every day. You’ve got to understand and live through their struggle. It’s harder to suspend disbelief these days.” But this is Dumas. And therefore it’s escapism.

Producer Colin Wratten points out, “It’s told from the musketeers’ point of view, and there’s a lot of close-up [filming] but we also wanted it to be beautiful. Every shot is like a Caravaggio painting. There’s a lot of candlelight – candles were the largest part of the budget.” Maimie McCoy as Milady de Winter Photo: BBC The musketeers’ gear, meanwhile, is made from Spanish leather, each costume cut uniquely so that the four silhouettes are distinct and full of character. The women wear bold shapes and vibrant silks, with colour and volume; costume designer Phoebe de Gaye borrowed from Alexander McQueen to give them a subtly modern flair. Maimie McCoy proudly lifts her skirt for me to reveal a natty little pistol holster embroidered with Milady de Winter’s symbol, a forget-me-not. “My silk knickerbockers were so fantastic that they were written into the script,” she says. The Musketeers starts on Sunday 19 January at 9pm on BBC One

Question: Which character was played by Peter Capaldi in the recent TV drama The Musketeers?
Answer: Cardinal Richelieu